Beet Greens
Don’t throw your beet greens away!
I love beet greens more than the beet itself. Actually, until very recently every time I was served beets, I thought they tasted rather like dirt. Michelle made beets the other night and they were quite good. She said she simply roasted and peeled them and let them cool. She served them over a spring mix salad with goat cheese and grapefruit slices. The dressing was a light oil and vinegar. I really did enjoy the beets cold. They were juicy, tasty and tender. And she mixed yellow beets with the regular dark purple ones. I preferred the yellow beets to the purple because they were milder and sweeter. But what really got me excited were the beet greens!
If you haven’t tried them, you don’t what you are missing. Using the Greens makes economical sense too — you’ve paid for them already and now you can get two vegetable side dishes.
Beet greens are incredibly easy to cook. Just cut off the woody stems and sauté them. In a sauté pan, render down two or three slices of bacon (or more if you like). Drain (most of) the fat before the bacon is cooked to however crispy you like. Then crush a clove of garlic and toss it in with the bacon. When the garlic is becomes aromatic (about 2–3 minutes) put the beet greens in and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add a little kosher sat and some fresh ground pepper. Cook the beet greens until soft, which will take no more than 10 minutes.
In the last few minutes of cooking, you can add a couple splashes of either Cider or Red Wine vinegar to deglaze the sauté pan and add a little “extra” flavor into the beet greens. This method also works for Kale or Collard Greens; they just take twice as long too cook.
If your kids do not like beets, try the yellow or ‘candy striped’ ones next time. (They don’t stain either and are easier to sneak into soups, stews or chili. You can shred them over pasta or salads too.) Beets are wonderfully nutritious, containing high amounts of fiber, folic acid, potassium, calcium and a variety of antioxidants. And the greens have higher amounts of iron and vitamins than the roots!
In the future whenever Michelle wants to eat roasted beets, I’ll gladly eat the greens!
If you are a vegetarian, or don’t have bacon on hand, use olive oil or butter.
